1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to spare tire carriers for vehicles and, more particularly, to a swing-away spare tire carrier for a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Related Art
Motor vehicles typically include a spare tire in the event of a flat or blowout of one of four tires of the vehicle. The spare tire may be carried interior or exterior to the motor vehicle. For exterior motor vehicle applications, the spare tire is mounted on a spare tire carrier. The spare tire carrier may be stationary or movable. For movable applications, the spare tire carrier has a carrier arm pivotally mounted to a bracket, which is fixedly secured to a rear bumper or hatch door of the motor vehicle by fasteners. The spare tire is mounted by fasteners to the carrier arm, which allows the spare tire to"swing-away" from the motor vehicle.
One disadvantage of the above spare tire carrier is that it places a load on the rear bumper or hatch door of the motor vehicle, which is undesired. Another disadvantage of the above spare tire carrier is that it has a relatively large number of parts.